Neuigkeiten und Ankündigungen » management felt that Capelas performance

BOSTON – He is the other Bruins stopper. Not the 6-foot-9 all-encompassing mountain that is Zdeno Chara, but the reigning (and likely repeat) Selke Trophy winner and the “underrated” thorn in the Leafs side. “I think hes got to be one of the best two-way forwards in the game,” Tyler Bozak remarked to TSN.ca. “He doesnt do flashy stuff at all, but its like he never makes a wrong play. He always does the right thing. Its hard for him to make mistakes I guess.” “Hes a guy that can hurt you offensively, but at the same time hes going to frustrate you on the defensive end,” added Ryan OByrne, a frequent opponent as a former member of the Montreal Canadiens. Patrice Bergeron doesnt command the seismic attention of Chara, but remains as significant a detriment to the Maple Leafs chances of success in a first round series with Boston, set to continue with Game 2 on Saturday evening at TD Garden. A determined and pesky presence at both ends of the rink, Bergeron is an all-around pain to deal with, because as Bozak points out, “theres not really an aspect of his game that he lacks”. “Hes one of those guys that does everything well really,” Jay McClement, a strong defensive pivot himself, noted. “Hes good at faceoffs and hes always in the conversation for the Selke every year and for good reason.” While he did not score or manage a point in the Bruins dominant Game 1 win on Wednesday night, the 27-year-old draped himself over Torontos top line of Bozak, Phil Kessel, and James van Riemsdyk, Kessel, most prominently, held off the scoreboard for the fifth time in five meetings with Boston this season. “He plays the game honest,” said Bozak, his unit rarely seeing a moment free of Bergeron in the series opener. “Hes always on the right side of the puck. He doesnt get caught in situations where he leaves someone out to dry. I just think hes a really honest player.” “Hes never out of position,” OByrne opined. “He leans on you and he just doesnt give you much room.” Chara has made life unquestionably difficult on Kessel, the Leafs leading scorer who is still without an even-strength goal against his former team, but so too has Bergeron. Not overly imposing physically – actually listed at about the same size as Bozak – the native of LAncienne-Lorette, Quebec achieves his success defensively with determination and intelligence, instinctively scoping out the play with anticipation and effective positioning. “I think hockey smarts is probably one of the biggest assets you can have,” said Bozak, “and I think his are right up there with the tops.” “To play that type of role you have to be smart and read the plays,” added McClement. “Hes one of those guys that was probably a very offensive player growing up and then added that two-way part to his game.” Centering Bostons swift top line of Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, Bergeron is a challenging force on the draw, leading the league at 62.1 percent in 2013, including an almost unbeatable 67 percent mark at home. “He was someone that early in my career I had a really tough time beating and someone that I tried to learn some stuff from,” Bozak mentioned. In his first one-on-one battle with Bergeron – March 9, 2010 – the Leafs top line centre lost 11 of 17 draws, but ended up marginally ahead in their most recent battle, winning 6 of 11 clashes in Game 1. “Positioning, strength, his timings really good,” Bozak remarked of Bergerons faceoff skills. “I think another thing [is] he changes it up a lot, he doesnt just stick [to one move] and do the same thing … so he keeps you guessing and youve got to try and keep him guessing so its [kind] of a mind game.” Its those heady defensive traits and faceoff acumen that additionally make Bergeron one of the leagues most effective penalty killers, the Toronto power-play shut down in 10 of 11 opportunities in the regular season, 1-3 in the series opener, the lone goal ensuing with Bergeron in the box. Factor in his stealth production offensively, 35 points in 44 career games against the Leafs, including a team-leading four points in four meetings this season, and its no wonder that Bergeron is labeled as "underrated" by OByrne. “Hes not a flashy player,” said the Leafs defender, “but hes going to contribute offensively for sure and thats why he maybe goes under the radar a bit. “Hes a key part of that Boston team and maybe is a little underrated.” Fake Soccer Jerseys . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Soccer Jerseys Outlet .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.Houston Rockets management repeatedly pushed for Clint Capela to get more playing time at the expense of Dwight Howard last season, sources told ESPN, adding to the disharmony that played a prominent role in the teams disappointing 2015-16 campaign.Former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff resisted complying with the wishes of general manager Daryl Morey and owner Leslie Alexander regarding a drastic reduction in Howards playing time. Team sources said Alexander never participated in the meetings with Morey and Bickerstaff but fully supported the general managers plan to prioritize Capelas development.League sources said input from face-of-the-franchise James Harden heavily influenced Houston managements desire to decrease Howards minutes. However, team sources insisted that Harden was not involved in those discussions.While Howards minutes remained steady throughout the season, word of Rockets managements desire to reduce his role filtered back to the big man. That further deteriorated Howards trust of the franchise, one of many factors in the dysfunction that dragged Houston down during a 41-41 campaign that came on the heels of a Western Conference finals run.There were times I was disinterested because of situations that happened behind the scenes that really hurt me, Howard said in a May interview with ESPNs Jackie MacMullan. It left me thinking, This is not what I signed up for.Asked to elaborate, Howard added: I felt like my role was being reduced. I went to Daryl and said, I want to be more involved. Daryl said, No, we dont want you to be. My response was, Why not? Why am I here? It was shocking to me that it came from him instead of our coach.Morey declined to comment, and Howard declined to further discuss issues related to his Rockets tenure. Bickerstaff, now the Memphis Grizzlies associate head coach, was not available for comment due to team rules restricting access to assistants.Sources said Howarrd learned of managements attempts to cut his minutes in midseason and shared a mutual interest with the Rockets front office to move him before the trade deadline.dddddddddddd The Rockets shopped Howard, according to sources, but no deal came close to materializing largely due to Houstons ambitious asking price: an immediate major contributor and either a promising developmental project or future first-round pick.Rockets managements motivation for wanting to increase Capelas workload at the expense of Howard was twofold, according to sources. The Rockets anticipated that Howard would likely leave in free agency, making Capelas development critical to the franchises future, and management felt that Capelas performance merited more minutes.Capela averaged 13.3 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes last season. By comparison, Howards per-36 averages last season were 15.4 points, 13.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.Howard averaged 32.1 minutes per game last season, including 31.9 minutes per game after the All-Star break. It was the second-lowest minutes average of Howards career, behind only the previous season, when injuries limited him to 41 games.Capela, the Rockets 2014 first-round pick who played in only 12 games his rookie season, averaged 19.1 minutes in his second NBA season with his playing time actually dipping slightly after the All-Star break.The Rockets, according to sources, planned for most of the season to part with Howard in the summer. However, Houston management decided at the 11th hour to attempt to persuade Howard into exercising the player option for the final season of his contract, which would have paid him a salary of $23.2 million this season.Howard chose to opt out of his deal and signed a three-year, $70.5 million contract with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. ' ' '